A New Host of Rafflesia Tuan-Mudae Becc
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Hindawi Publishing Corporation Journal of Botany Volume 2016, Article ID 3952323, 6 pages http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2016/3952323 Research Article Tetrastigma diepenhorstii (Miq.) Latiff (Vitaceae), a New Host of Rafflesia tuan-mudae Becc. (Rafflesiaceae) in Borneo Wan Nuur Fatiha Wan Zakaria,1 Aida Shafreena Ahmad Puad,1 Connie Geri,2 Ramlah Zainudin,3 and Abdul Latiff4 1 Department of Plant Science and Environmental Ecology, Faculty of Resource Science and Technology, Universiti Malaysia Sarawak, 94300 Kota Samarahan, Sarawak, Malaysia 2Sarawak Forestry Corporation, 93050 Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia 3Department of Zoology, Faculty of Resource Science and Technology, Universiti Malaysia Sarawak, 94300 Kota Samarahan, Sarawak, Malaysia 4Department of Botany, Faculty of Science and Technology, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, 43600 Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia Correspondence should be addressed to Aida Shafreena Ahmad Puad; [email protected] Received 30 April 2016; Accepted 20 September 2016 Academic Editor: Curtis C. Daehler Copyright © 2016 Wan Nuur Fatiha Wan Zakaria et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Rafflesia tuan-mudae Becc. (Rafflesiaceae) is endemic to Borneo and was recorded from Sarawak and probably Kalimantan. Previous records showed that Tetrastigma rafflesiae (Miq.) Planch. (Vitaceae) is the only host plant for R. tuan-mudae. In this study the host plants were collected each time R. tuan-mudae was observed or collected. Out of 20 Tetrastigma specimens collected infected by R. tuan-mudae, 14 were identified as T. diepenhorstii (Miq.) Latiff while 6 belonged to T. rafflesiae. Therefore, a new host for R. tuan-mudae is recorded and descriptions for each host are presented. 1. Introduction as the host plant for many Rafflesia species, namely, T. curtisii (Ridl.) Suess., T. diepenhorstii (Miq.) Latiff, T. glabratum Rafflesiaceae is a plant family that consists of eight gen- Planch., T. papillosum Planch., and T. rafflesiae Planch. [1, 9– era Apodanthes Poit., Bdallophytum Eichler, Cytinus L., 11]. However, the latter is the host plant for most Rafflesia Mitrastema Makino, Pilostyles Guillemin, Rafflesia R. Br. ex species and also for Rhizanthes zippelii (Blume) Spach [1, 9]. Gray, Rhizanthes Dumort., and Sapria Griffith with about Establishing the identity of the host plants is difficult mainly 55 species recorded. All members in this family are obligate because they were usually not collected together with the parasitesandrootlessandhavenochlorophyllandtherefore Rafflesia [1]. Observations of 771 herbarium specimens from are dependent on the host plants for water, nutrients, and various herbaria such as BO, KEP, SAN, SAR, SING, SNP, survival [1]. Currently, the genus Rafflesia consists of about and UKMB showed that there were only two records of 34 species and is distributed in the Southeast Asian region Tetrastigma as the host. An example is shown by R. keithii [1–6]. (Coll. number SNP4088) where T. diepenhorstii is mentioned. Some species of the genus Tetrastigma (Miq) Planch. Moreover, the hosts that were collected were sterile with no (Vitaceae), a woody vine, are the host plants for Rafflesia fruits or flowers, thus making reliable identification virtually species [1]. Tetrastigma is distributed mainly in the Asian impossible [1]. An ongoing study by Wan Nuur Fatiha Wan tropics, ranging from India to China, across Southeast Asia, Zakaria is in progress to identify the sterile Tetrastigma eastward towards Fiji and extending towards subtropical species using molecular tools. Australia [7]. The species climb using tendrils, which develop Rafflesia tuan-mudae Becc., commonly known as Pakma oppositetheleaf[8].Thereareafewthathavebeenreported bythelocals[12],isoneoftheRafflesia species endemic to.